In this meditation we'll practice metta,
Loving kindness towards other people and towards ourselves.
To begin,
Get into a comfortable position.
You can be seated or lying down,
Whichever you prefer at the moment.
Make sure your whole body is well supported so that you can relax as much as possible while being alert and focused on the experience of this meditation.
You can have your eyes closed or leave them open,
But make sure you have a soft gaze or a gentle point of focus in the distance.
We'll begin by bringing our attention to the body.
Take a moment to feel your body,
Your head,
The shoulders,
Arms and hands,
Your chest,
Your abdomen,
Whole back,
Your buttocks,
And your legs and feet.
Now bring your attention to your breath.
Feel the movement of your breath and notice where you can sense that movement.
Perhaps you can sense a flow of air through the nose.
Or maybe you can feel your ribs expanding,
Your belly moving,
The front of the body,
The sides of the body and the back of the body.
Noticing the expansion as you inhale and the relaxation when you exhale.
There's no need to change it or to judge it.
Just notice what you sense right now by observing the change in each moment.
Feeling the body breathing itself.
Now bring your attention to the mind and observe that.
Notice if it's busy or calm,
Without judgment.
And whenever your mind drifts off,
Just bring it back to your bodily sensations and to your breath.
And now we'll move on to sending loving kindness.
So take a moment to bring to mind someone that you love.
Someone for whom it is easy to feel love and compassion and with whom you have an easy relationship.
Visualize that person.
Imagining them in a place where they are already happy and at ease.
And start wishing that person well.
Repeating the phrases quietly in your mind.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
Feel your wishes as sensations inside of your body.
May you be safe.
May you be at peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be loved.
May you feel joy.
You can keep adding wishes or repeating these wishes.
What do you wish for your person?
Wish it and feel it in your body.
Focusing on the feeling that you're generating of love and compassion within you.
Keep breathing and feeling the earth supporting you.
Now bring to mind a person with whom you have a more challenging relationship.
Someone who you find it more difficult to relate to.
And notice what happens in your body and in your mind.
Visualize this person.
Their face,
Their body.
The life they are living.
And then connect with metta.
The feeling of loving kindness and compassion that you are cultivating.
If the person you chose is too difficult for you in this moment,
Choose another person with whom you have a slightly less complicated relationship and return to your metta practice.
And wish the best for that person.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
Repeating it slowly to connect with the intention and the meaning of your wishes.
And although it may be difficult at times,
Try to set the intention and feel the good wishes inside of you.
May you be at peace.
May you be free of suffering.
Keep visualizing that person.
Wishing the best by focusing on the feeling of love and compassion for them.
May you feel joy.
May your heartfelt dreams come true.
Now let this image of that person dissolve and return to your own body and breath.
Observing it and feeling it.
And now,
This feeling of compassion,
Of loving kindness,
Bring it to yourself.
Dedicate these wishes to yourself.
Focusing on the feeling of love,
Peace,
Tranquility,
Well-being,
And bring that into your wishes.
And if you find it hard to say it to yourself,
You can maybe imagine yourself as the child that you were.
Surely you can wish the best for the little person you once were.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you be at peace.
May you lack nothing.
Feel it as a feeling inside of you.
Wishing loving kindness and compassion to yourself.
Keep repeating the wishes and add that what you want to wish to yourself.
May you feel loved.
May you experience joy.
May you be free from suffering.
Now slowly let go of the wishes,
But stay with the feeling of love and compassion.
Refocus on your body,
Your breath,
Connection with the earth beneath you,
And with the space around you.
And if you want,
You can carry this feeling of loving kindness and compassion into the rest of your day and of your life.
If your eyes were closed,
You can gradually open them and become present again and active in the world around you.
And the more you keep practicing metta,
The easier it will be to access this state of being and the easier it will be to face difficult situations because you already have the tools of love and compassion living inside of you that help you and others suffer less.
